Discover the Best Books Written by Tony Zinni

Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a former United States Marine Corps general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special envoy for the United States to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. From 2017 to 2019, he served as a special envoy to help resolve the Qatar diplomatic crisis.

While serving as a special envoy, Zinni was also an instructor in the Department of International Studies at the Virginia Military Institute. He later served as an instructor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, a public speaker, and an author of best-selling books on his military career and foreign affairs, including Battle for Peace. As of 2005, he was involved in the corporate world, joining M.I.C. Industries as its president for International Operations in 2005.

Zinni also serves or has served on the advisory boards of a number of companies, including the security testing firm, Mu Dynamics, based in Sunnyvale, California. He joined Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy in spring 2008 as the Sanford Distinguished Lecturer in Residence and taught a new course in the Hart Leadership Program. Zinni also serves on the board of directors for Caliburn International, a military contracting conglomerate that includes operations for Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children.

He has been credited for foresight in predicting the dangers of terrorism coming out of Afghanistan before the September 11 attacks of 2001, and for supporting the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. In October 2009, he came out firmly in support of General Stanley A. McChrystal's request for up to 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan.

Zinni was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and raised in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, the son of Lilla (née Disabatino), a seamstress and homemaker, and Antonio Zinni, a chauffeur. His parents were of Italian descent. His father was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly after immigrating and served in World War I, being promoted to corporal and later receiving citizenship. Zinni's brother served in the Korean War.

In 1965, Zinni graduated from Villanova University with a B.S. degree in economics and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He later earned an M.A. degree in management and supervision from Central Michigan University in 1984 and a second M.A. degree in international relations from Salve Regina College in 1987. Zinni graduated from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College in 1978 and the National War College in 1984. He attended the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in 1967 and the Amphibious Warfare School in 1970.